ABSTRACT
Blacks in US sports have made significant strides since the landmark signing of Jackie Robinson by the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947. While racial integration improved opportunities for black sport participation on a large scale, this was not the case for black leaders in sport, the owners, managers, athletic directors and coaches. As Rhoden (2006: 139) suggests, ‘The key to the ultimate appeal of integration for white coaches was that it would not mean a corresponding loss of power; in essence, whites could have their cake and eat it, too.’ This pattern continues to exist at the many levels of US sports, but it is the collegiate level that currently exhibits the slowest progression in equitable positioning of blacks as athletic leaders.
